Immortal Regrets
by Ben Skywalker
Summary: MAJOR SPOILERS for PotC3. Elizabeth watches the sunset at the end of the day, ten years after the biggest adventure of her life has ended.


So, I work at a movie theater, which means we screened PotC3 last night. If you don't want to spoil the ending, wait until you see the movie then come back and read this.

Takes place after the scene after the credits.

When you DO read this though, leave your reviews. They really make my day.

**Spoiler Warning**

**Immortal Regrets**

Elizabeth Turner watched the Flying Dutchman sail back out over the horizon, heart tight as it grew fainter then disappeared into the sunset with a bright green flash. And just like that, she resumed her wait. Ten years. Only ten more years…

She felt the small hand she was holding grip hers even more tightly at the flash. Glancing down, she saw big brown eyes staring up at her – _his_ eyes – watching, gauging her emotions while showing so much themselves. It was the gaze of an almost ten year old boy, a boy who had met his father for the first time, only to watch him sail away at the end of the day. He was her world. Her miracle. If it wasn't for him, she wasn't entirely sure where she'd be.

She smiled down at the boy, trying to be encouraging, trying to show everything she had said so often and hide everything she really felt. He smiled up at her, believing her, smile so heart-wrenchingly sweet – so much like _him_ – that it was instinct for her to smile back, really smile.

A sigh came from behind her, startling her, until she heard the warm, familiar voice, a voice that – sadly enough she had heard only a few times more than she had heard _his_. "Looks like I missed him."

Her son reacted first. "Uncle Jack!" He rushed forward, launching himself at the closest thing to an extended family he had.

" 'Ello, whelp." Glancing up, caramel eyes slightly uncertain, he flashed his gold-tooth smile at her. " 'Ello, Lizabeth."

She smiled and went to him, taking a hug that he gave her willingly. "It's good to see you, Jack."

That smile changed from uncertain to roguish in an instant. "I know it is, darlin'. But remember, we talked it through and it simply would not have worked. Besides, the last thing I need is an overly assertive woman and an … excessively endearing child bindin' me to land."

"And of course, the fact that you would have angered the immortal that will guide your soul to the after-life has absolutely no bearing on your considerations." As she spoke, her eyes – seemingly of their own accord – were drawn to the sea, then to her son, who was sitting at the edge of the cliff, watching as the light faded over its rolling, sparkling surface. To her own surprise, the question she had wondered about for ten years came out. "Do you regret it, Jack?" At his startled confusing she added, "What you did, do you regret it?"

The look on the pirate's face was uncharacteristically serious as he met her eyes. "D' you?"

She knew he was questioning her thoughts on his actions, and oddly, she found that she couldn't begrudge him her honesty. "Sometimes. At night, when I'm alone… As I wait… But then, I wouldn't have the miracle in my life that I have now." She watched her son fondly. "If it wasn't for him… I don't know what I'd do. So for that, I thank you and your actions." Her eyes met his and she waited, waiting to finally know the answer to the question that had remained in her mind for the last decade.

"When I think of what I could have had, the immortality… I know it would've been easier if I'd kept it for m'self. Wouldn't ta wasted four years lookin' for the Fountain a Youth, like I did. Ultimately though… No. I couldn't have done anythin' else. Not and live with m'self."

"_The trick isn't livin', it's livin' with yourself."_

His father's words still rang in his head. But even clearer – even more deeply burned into his sometimes sketchy memory, was the moment that he'd made his decision, the one that now effected his life, Elizabeth and her son's, as well as that of her husband.

_Horror was something he rarely felt. At least like this .It was something he didn't know was possible. But all the same…_

_He barely heard Davey Jones's comment about life being cruel. Everything had been stacked in his favor. He had the heart in his hands and what remained of his sword poised to plunge into it, killing the evil captain and giving him the immortality he so desired. It wasn't supposed to go like this. A split second, and everything crumbled. A split second, and Davey whirled and stabbed his sword – almost to the hilt – straight through Will's heart. There was a scream from Elizabeth and a look of stunned, uncomprehending pain crossed Will's face as he collapsed. _

_Numbness filled Jack. This… No! No, not Will. With as many times as they had betrayed each other… Not the whelp! Elizabeth was screaming for Will to focus on her. Bootstrap appeared out of nowhere and jumped Davey Jones. And Jack just stood there. Will was _dying_. Dying. Death. Immortality… Freedom from death. He held the key in his hands… Suddenly he knew what he had to do…_

"I couldn't just watch him die. So I did the only thing that could save him."

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "And I don't think I can thank you enough for that."

"Even though it bound your husband as the captain of the Flying Dutchman?"

"Seeing Will once every ten years is better than never. And like I said, I would have my little miracle if you hadn't."

Silence grew between the two friends for a long while, even though darkness had already crept over the land. They simply stood and stared out where a husband and a friend had disappeared and a little boy continued to watch the sea.

"Jack…" Elizabeth finally broke the quiet of the night, voice low. "How long will you be gone this time?"

"Can't say." The pirate held the pretty woman close. "But when you need me… I'll be here."

"I know, Jack. I know."

Stars flickered over the Caribbean Sea. Ten years. Ten years…

Elizabeth had her son. She had a friend that would help her whenever she needed it. And in ten years, she would have her husband again.

_I love you, Will._

* * *

In the other world, Will smiled. 

_I love you too, Elizabeth._

Fin


End file.
